Viscous fluids such as cosmetic creams and pastes (including toothpaste), medicament creams and pastes, soaps and detergents, food pastes and sauces, adhesives and glues, fillers and binding agents etc are often stored in and dispensed from pliable containers, especially tubes, bottles, tubs etc. Such a container may comprise a dispenser component having one end mounted to an open end of the container. The dispenser may have a spout at an opposing end from which the fluid is released. The fluid can be caused to be released by pressuring the tube interior (e.g. by manually squeezing a pliable wall thereof) which applies pressure to the fluid and forces it into the dispenser component, to ultimately issue forth out of the spout.
The spout of the dispenser component can be closed by a screw cap, a flip-top lid or other similar closure device. The use of such closure devices may result in a build-up of fluid around the sealing area making them difficult to close. If not properly closed by a user, then fluid in the dispenser component can degrade due to oxygen ingress or be inadvertently released from the spout, leading to mess and/or cap or lid seizure or fastening. Also, if the fluid itself is hazardous, improper closing can sometimes present a hazard.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,977,227 discloses a self closing paste tube. The head of the tube comprises four metal sections coated by rubber to define an outlet that automatically closes upon removal of a squeezing pressure upon the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,792,149 discloses a collapsible tube for toothpaste. A dispensing head is attached to the tube that opens when pressure is applied to the tube and closes after that pressure is released. The head is formed from a single piece of plastic material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,124 discloses a liquid dispensing container. The container includes a self closing conduit, which is urged closed by a plurality of elongate beads surrounding the conduit.
A reference herein to a prior art document is not an admission that the document forms part of the common general knowledge of a person of ordinary skill in the art in Australia or elsewhere.